At the time of the Austrian occupation of Bukovina in 1774 50 Jewish families
lived in Suceava, the former residence city of the Moldavian prince Stefan,
that is 203 souls (108 men and 95 women). In 1776, there were 55 Jewish
families with 318 souls.

In 1782, General Enzenberg ordered that all Jews who sneaked into
Bukovina since 1769 who didn't pay over 4 gulden in yearly contributions should
be driven out of the state. 31 Jewish families with 92 members were to be
deported.

The representatives of the Suceava community[1],
Leiser Joell, David Simson and Efroim Moise took an active part in the
meetings with the representatives of the Jews from all 13 districts in the
State. These meetings took place in Chernivtsi and a petition in the name of
the entire Jewish population of Bukovina was sent to the central government in
Vienna. The petition demanded that the Jews be allowed to keep a kosher diet,
lease land and be allowed to carry on business.

A three person executive committee led the community and was elected every
three years by the members of the community in the presence of representatives
of the authorities.

In 1778, the budget of the Jewish community of Suceava was 309 Fl. 20 Kreuzer.
The members of the executive committee had a salary.

From the years 1782-1789 we have several documents related to complaints of the
Suceava Jews.

The Jew, Aron wants to get back the 10 Ducats he paid for the marriage of his
daughter in the Turkish zone of Bukovina.

The Jewess Roise asked for release from the public work she was sentenced to
for theft and immediate nullifying of the cordon condemned man.

Request by Luca Potoschano, Armenian in Suceava that the Jewess Taubin either
pay him 350 florin for the land she purchased from him or return the land.

Hirschel and Schama Wolff, expelled Suceava Jews request that they be allowed
to take up residence in Suceava again.

The Jews, Perl, Chaim, Schlomo request that they be allowed to return to the
district. They are tailors by profession.

Mendel Hirschel, Jewish judge in Suceava requests that his son be allowed to
return to Suceava.

Mendel Hirschel as judge and the entire Jewish population of Suceava request
that they be taken under protection and that all their relatives in the
Bukovina district who were expelled are allowed to return.

In spite of all measures by the authorities to prevent the growth of the Jewish
population, by 1791 there were 170 Jewish families in Suceava.

In 1786 an attempt was made to force the Jews to take up farming and the Jewish
community in Suceava was required to volunteer 5 families. The
families totaled 12 men, 7 women, 10 boys and 9 girls. They received in
addition to 94 Koretz of land, 5 dwellings, 5 stalls and barns, 5 sets of
farming implements, 10 horses, 16 oxen and 13 cows.

In 1790, a German Jewish school under the leadership of the teacher Enoch
Goldenthal (with a yearly salary of 150 fl.) was opened. Since, according to a
community announcement of June 17, 1791, he publicly insulted the Jewish
religion, he was very unpopular.

In 1792, a certain Bally was hired as a teacher.

In 1808, there were already 73 Jewish Families in Suceava. This number was
large enough to form a community and they elected their leaders, which were
confirmed by the local officials.

The chief occupation of the Suceava Jews was the production and serving of
brandy, beer and alcohol.

The Bräuhaus in Suceava, property of the Jews Abraham Sachter, Aron Barber
and Bauer, took away business from the Christian breweries in Chernivtsi and
Suceava causing them to file complaints with the district government and with
the brewer's guild stating that the owners didn't have the required
certificate of apprenticeship.

Actually, in 1802, the Bräuhaus in Suceava was shut down because the
owners couldn't produce a certificate of apprenticeship and in addition, they
had another business.

It was determined that legally; the Jews could only have a bar in Suceava.

Like all the other Jews in the land, the Suceava Jews suffered under a heavy
tax burden. In 1817, there were 272 Jewish families in Suceava and the
surrounding communities who had to pay 9, 746 fl. 40 kr. total in Jew
taxes yearly. Because of the business crisis, the Jews got further and
further behind in the payment of taxes.

In the first decades of the XIX century, leading the Suceava Jewish community
were the elected members of the board of directors, Hersch Barber, Israel
Lenzer, Feiwisch Hattner, Solomon Rohrlich, Juda Kramer and Jossel Bandel and
further, the elected elders Aron Huttmann and accountant Abraham Goldhagen for
the sister community of Siret.

Although the stay of the religion teacher, Nathan Goldstein was only supposed
to be allowed until the end of October 1810, he was still in office in 1821. On
September 21, 1821 he was even able to obtain a certificate from the district
government office authorizing him to record divorces of Jewish couples when one
member of the couple had converted to Christianity. He received a yearly salary
of 250 fl. 120 of which came from the community budget and the remaining 130
fl. was contributed by the wealthy members of the community.

The Jewish population in Suceava grew since 1848. At the end of 1880 out of
10,104 residents in Suceava, 3750 were Jewish (37.1%). The number of Jewish
school children also grew at an equally fast rate. In the Suceava school
district in 1871, there were 28 Jewish boys (3.3%) and 39 girls (12.5%), in
1875: 34 Jewish boys (3.5%) and 40 girls (9.4%) and in 1880: 75 Jewish boys
(7.2%) and 282 girls (34.65). In private schools, however in 1871, there were
only 10 girls and in 1880: 1 boy and 1 girl. Toward the end of the XIX century
the Suceava community had 1 temple and 8 public prayer houses, and also two
religion teachers. The community's income at this time was 7329 fl. and the
expenses were 7320 fl. Until the religious community law of 1890 the executive
committee had 2 members and the community council had 3 members.

Suceava always had a strong Jewish intelligentsia and until Bukovina was
annexed to Romania, a large percentage of competent Jewish businessmen, but
only a small number of trained craftsmen. The Jewish population played a great,
even decisive roll in public life.

In 1901 6787 Jews lived in the city of Suceava and an additional 1500 Jews
lived in the Suceava district. In 1914, there were 8000 Jews in Suceava, of
whom, however, only 900 were taxpaying members of the Jewish community.

The president of the executive committee at that time was the lawyer Dr. Adolf
Finkler and his deputy was Samuel Hellmann. The members of the executive
committee were Karl Scherzer, Dr. Leo Bogen who was a lawyer, Dr. Jakob Kraemer
who was city doctor and Benzion Fraenkel. Dr. Abraham Loewy served as rabbi,
the rabbinical judge was Schulim Moskowicz, the community secretary was Salomon
Gottesmann, the religion teacher was Bernhard Fraenkel, the cantor was Abraham
Chajtman and the teachers at the Talmud Torah were A. M. Rosenstrauch and Sam.
Kupferberg. The yearly income and expenses of the Jewish community at that time
were 100,000 Kronen.

The temple in Suceava was built at the beginning of the XIX century. The
cornerstone was laid by the Chernivtsi Rabbi, R. Chaim Tyrer, who was
called
Chaim Czernowitzer. The first cantor was Menasche Mass from Russia. He was
among the first Jews who became citizens.

The Beth Hamidrasch was built in 1860 by Hersch Langer and Jakob
Beer Weidenfeld. The two rabbis Hager and Jankale Moskowitz had their own
prayer houses. In the great synagogue, the cantor Spektor officiated, the
prayer reader was Srul Awner, a well-known Talmudist. The trustee of the great
synagogue was Mendel Eisenberg. Members of the leadership were: Imperial
Council, Hermann Beiner who was an active captain in the Austrian army, leather
factory owner Salomon Sternlieb, the iron dealer Schaje Langer, Mendl Bogen,
Meier Rosenstock, Markus Kahn, Eisik Gruenberg, Alter Gruenberg, Lipa Fraenkel,
Feibel Holdengraeber and Hersch David.

The prayer house Chewrath Thilim was built by Mosche Matian, the
tailor school by Eisig Rothkopf, the Wiznitzer Klaus by
Mordche Tennenhaus, the Sadagurer Klaus by Mordche Leib Safran, Jonas
Schwalbach and Wolf Sigal who contributed the land.

The community supported a Talmud Torah whose building was contributed by Itzig
and Regine Vogel.

Before the First World War there was a bible school where Grünseid, Moses
Rosenstrauch, Kupferberg and Wolf Gerson Langer served as teachers.

The first Jewish organization in Suceava was the Chowewe Zion,
whose founder Schaje Langer died in Transnistrien. His wife, Charlotte Langer,
was founder of the woman's organization, Ruth, which carried on
significant social and cultural activities.

The Zionist organization Theodor Herzl, was founded by Dr. Adolf
Gabor who died in Schargorod Transnistrien and Dr. Abraham Schapira who
also
died in Transnistrien. Schaje Langer and Avrum Aron Tennenbaum were effective
members.

The Jüdische Gewerbe und Krankenunterstützungsverein,
whose president was Karl Scherzer should also be mentioned here.

As representative of the Suceava Jews, the Physician, Dr. Weidenfeld sat in the
Bukovina parliament. Later he was a lecturer at the University in Vienna.

In the city government of Suceava, in 1907/8, the lawyer, Dr. Baruch Schaffer
was the first deputy mayor of Suceava and chairman of the Social Democratic
party of the Suceava district under whose leadership a sewer system and
electricity was installed and second deputy mayor was the lawyer, Dr. Heinrich
Rohrlich Horowitz who died in Schargorod of typhus. The Jewish city council
members were: estate owner Hersch Sperber, lawyer Dr. Heinrich Lupul, Mosche
Sternlieb, physician, Dr. Benjamin Sperber, lawyer Dr. Adolf Gabor, Bernhard
Kern, Leon Rothkopf, lawyer Dr. L. Bogen, lawyer Dr. Meir Teich, etc.

For decades R. Mosche Hager served as rabbi in Suceava and Gerschon Stettner
served as rabbinical court judge. His court in the Long Street was
a center for thousands of his Chasidim who came to him out of the neighboring
villages of the Old Kingdom. Falticeni, Botoschani, Dorohoi, etc.
After his death, his son, Chaim Hager followed him in the rabbinate.

No less well known, as a performer of wonders was a woman, the
Schotzer rebezin. Her son was Rabbi Jankale Moskowicz, a well-known
benefactor in the city. He welcomed in his house in the Itzkaner Street every
poor person who came to Suceava and provided him with food and money. Thousands
of Jews made pilgrimages to the graves of his father and mother, lit candles
there and left kwittlach with their wishes. People often came with Torah rolls
and prayed by the graves. In memory of the Schotzer rabbi, a schotzer prayer
house was erected in Chernivtsi. On July 28, 1914 in the house of the Rabbi
Mosche Hager the double wedding of his two oldest daughters was held. It was
supposed to last 8 days. On the eighth day, the District Captain, Dr. Korn
carrying orders from the Austrian government appeared in the Rabbi's court and
gave the official order to cancel the festivities since Austria had declared
war against Serbia. The celebration, which thousands of Jews from all parts of
Bukovina was, indeed brought to an end.

Already on the same day, the soldiers of the 41st Bukovina Infantry Regiment
marched with their band to the railroad station in order to be transported to
the front.

Many Jews took refuge in cities to the West, preferably Vienna.

Two years later as most of Bukovina was occupied by the Russians, came
thousands of refugees, especially from Chernivtsi to Suceava. They were
received and cared for by the Jewish population and community at whose head
stood at that time, the estate owner, Hersch Sperber.

As the Russian army approached Suceava, at the orders of the Austrian army
command, the bridge over the Suceava River near Itzkany was blown up. The
Russians succeeded, however using boats and swimming horses to cross the river
to Suceava. They were lead by Colonel Bakunin. The first Cossack unit came from
Itzkany. When a Cossack was shot from his horse by Finance Official Hoffman,
the Russian general gave the order that as punishment for the murder of a
Russian soldier, the entire city should be set in flames. The mayor of the
city, Priest Dr. Sarbu, who was a friend of the Jews went with a delegation of
citizens of the city to the General and pleaded with him to withdraw his order
to destroy the city, because, the residents of the city were not to blame for
this murder. The general gave in to the request of the delegation, especially
the mayor who was an orthodox priest and so the city was saved from
destruction. The name of the murderer was never revealed. The march of the
Russian troops through the city toward the Carpathians took weeks.

The Breier brewery, which lay on the Southern border of the city, was
transformed into a munitions warehouse by the Russians. The warehouse was
sabotaged by Austrian patriots and was blown into the air.

The explosion not only destroyed the brewery, but also did great damage to all
the surrounding houses. After the Russian soldiers also occupied all the
buildings belonging to the Jewish community, the community council used space
in the Gottlieb guesthouse on Main Street.

In the course of the war, the Russians had to leave the city and the Austrian
officials returned. After the collapse of the monarchy in 1918, the Jews got
along well with the city and district of Suceava, better than they did when the
regional capital was Chernivtsi, one reason being that they spoke Romanian and
had business contacts with Romania during the time of the Austrian rule. It
appeared at first that there would be a modus vivendi. Business and
commerce flourished, industry developed and the Jewish businessmen profited
from the opening of the former border between Austria and Romania. The Jews
enjoyed the rights of citizens and were allowed to own real estate. Well known
estate owners of the region were: the Fischer family, Max Sommer, Hersch
Sperber, Leibuka Barber, Jakob Schaffner, Rudich Israel, Leib Wiznitzer, Bendit
and Leon Druckmann. In many rural districts there were Jewish families who were
farmers, as in Hatna, Ilisestie, Komanestie, Arbora etc. The most well known
representatives of industry were Pinchas Sternlieb (leather goods), Mosche
Koerner (tannery), Selig Klüger, the Weitmann brothers (mills), Berl
Denker and Mendl Itzig (wholesale bakeries), Isrel Kohn (caned goods factory),
Zwerling and Co. (fabric factory), Jakob Roessler and Sons (leather factory in
Itzkany), M. Pisen (mills), Moritz Singer (sawmill in Cacica), Haas Brothers
(sawmill in Arbora).

As in other cities in the formerly Austrian Bukovina, the Jews were represented
in the learned professions in much greater numbers then their percentage in the
total population would indicate. The lawyers and doctors were almost all Jewish.
The Jewish population founded and supported:

A Hebrew kindergarten under the leadership of Mrs. Bianca Ioles and Mrs. Ettel
Karp-Schapira (died in Siberia).

A Talmud Torah school, which was located in a house, donated to the Jewish
community by the Vogel family and was under the leadership of Prof. Mueller.

A large library and reading room.

The Zionist movement had a powerful influence on Jewish life. In addition to
the normal organizations, Chowewe Zion and Theodor
Herzl, the academic groups Tikwa and Hamadah were
active.

a) Wizo under the leadership of the women: Dr. Teich, Sabine
Gottesmann, Jetti Fuch-Koerner, Branka, Isoles.
b) Hadassa under the leadership of Mrs Ernestine Albrecht.
The Social Democratic party, whose members were mostly Jewish, played a
remarkable role in the social and cultural life of Jewish craftsmen and store
clerks.

Attorney Dr. Baruch Schaffer was chairman of the party Some of the leading
members were: Leib Rothkopf, Martin Hass, Eisig Rothkopf, Schmiel Zentner, J.
Hilsenrad, Isiu Taien, Berl Denker, Sender Kern, Schloime Freier, Blaustein,
Klein, Bernhard Kern who also was the leader of the accountant's organization.

The Bund functioned together with the Social Democratic party. It
founded the first Jewish worker organization in Suceava. The Bund also had its
representative in the sickness fund.

The Bund organized lectures and courses. The Bund worked together with the
Social Democratic party in the parliamentary elections, in the community and
the community council.

They also shared the Dr. Jakob Pistiner library. Further the
organizations worked together to give courses in Yiddish on Marxism and the
history of the worker's movement.

Some of the leading members of the Bund were: Schmiel Zentner, Berl Denker,
Waldmann, Popik, Strominger and Gimpel who died in Transnistrien.

There was an active cultural life in Suceava. Theater troupes from Chernivtsi
came often to Suceava. In addition, foreign troupes like the Wilnaer troupe
with Dr. Bartoff, the Lodzer troupe, the famous Actor Alexander Moissi, the
speaker Grossbart, etc visited the city frequently.

Poale Zion had an amateur troupe, which enjoyed special
recognition in the city. The organization also had a large library, which was
called Ber Borochow library.

Also, Zeire Zion had a theater troupe and its own library called
the Gordon Library.

Also, the Jewish amateur theater played an important roll in the battle against
assimilation, to which, the Jewish intelligentsia were especially prone. There
were several such amateur troupes in Suceava.

The Jewish opera stage was founded by Dr. Wolf Schaerf. In addition to the
founder there were the following members: Dr. Liby Schaerf, Kocka
Tennenbaum-Goldstein, Ricka Barber (Wischnitzer) (who together with her husband
lawyer S. Barber died on the Struma,) Frau Tilly Gabor-Goldberg
(Tel-Aviv), Ricka Schläffer-Hermann, etc.

Prominent musicians who played in the concerts were: Dr. Josef Halpern, past
director or the Jewish Gymnasium in Suceava, Leo Reiner who died in Moghilew,
Mrs. Schapira-Sobe and Isidor Kahn who was a well know musician in Bucharest.
Also, the well-known music teacher Spielmann, the Zwilling brothers and the
musician family Glasser should be mentioned.

As in 1936 under the influence of Nazi Germany the Goga-Cuza regime came to
power, a boycott against German films, medicines and all merchandise from
Germany was started by Jews. The Jewish pharmacists purchased no drugs from
Germany. The theater owners were forced to remove German films from their
programs. Even books and magazines from Germany were removed from the library.
Jewish doctors didn't prescribe German medicines anymore. The leaders of the
boycott were: Dr. Kalman Tarter, Dr. Adolf Gabor, Dr. Abraham Schapira, Martin
Hass, Dr. A. Hermann, Dr. Wolf Schaerf, etc.

The Jewish community was changed into a Jewish peoples community.
The first president of the new Jewish community in Suceava was Chaim Perker. He
was followed by Dr. A. Finkler under whose leadership, the Jewish
House was built. The supervisor of the ritual section at that time was
Jakob Samson Schapira.

Dr. Finkler was followed by Samuel Hellmann from Itzkany and then lawyer Dr.
Heinrich Lupul and later lawyer Dr. Meier Teich who had the leadership for a
long time and was very effective, then lawyer, Dr. Josef Kaufmann followed by
Dr. Meier Teich again who was in office until 1941.

In June 1940 the Red army marched into Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia. Those
evacuated from North Bukovina, the city offices, the court officials, the
church, the university, the police and the army command, the banks, the school
inspector's office, etc. came at that time to Suceava like thousands of other
Romanian refugees with their families, especially the bureaucracy. The army
units, which retreated from Northern Bukovina, were quartered in the
neighboring villages and communities.

The officers and soldiers, the officials and the clerics held the Jews
responsible that the Russians had invaded the two Romanian provinces, North
Bukovina and Bessarabia. Anti-Semitism took on evermore-frightening forms. The
murder of Jews was part of the program of the anti-Semitic fanatics.

Many Jews including the farmer Rudich and the businessman Lachs in Costina were
murdered. The Jews were expelled from the military. They were put into work
battalions, which were mostly under the command of reserve officers. Jews who
reported to their work battalion were throw out of the moving train and many
were murdered or became crippled. Houses and stores were plundered by the
soldiers. Those who resisted were simply shot.

All the protests that the Jews made to the authorities were without success.
The police who were supposed to maintain order in the community committed the
same outrages as the soldiers.

As in the first days of July, 1941, the war against the Russians started, units
of the German army started moving toward the border region near Siret. The
troops came from the Old Kingdom and Siebenbürgen. Southern
Bukovina starting with Suceava became the staging area for the German and
Romanian troops. The eradication of the Jews began.

In Suceava, a prison for all Jewish men over 16 years of age was set up in the
prayer house of the rabbinic family in the Long Street. This prison camp was
under military command. It was dissolved in a short time and 30 to 40 Jewish
men were held as hostages in the Beth Hamidrasch prayer house and in the Great
Temple. Later, also women were held hostage the hostages, except for anti-Nazis
like Martin Haas, Leon Weinisch, Wagner, etc were exchanged every two weeks.
These prisons were also under military control.

In addition, German army units that were stationed in Romania came to Suceava.
The German officers who lived with Jews or in a Jewish neighborhood, told them
that Germany was preparing for war against the Russians and that the
Fuehrer had decided that at the same time to carry out the
final solution for the Jews in Europe using German troops and in
particular, the Special Troops, the SS for the purpose.

The German firm August Dohrman & Co. ,Remscheid, known by the name Death
Group, built, under contract to the German government in Suceava in the
Areni Garden a military hospital, since the city hospital in Suceava was much
to small. The Jews were used by the authorities as forced labor on this
project. They were also used as forced labor in the railroad tie factory in
Itzkany and furthermore in loading of grain intended for German military units
in Romania, in the railroad stations Itzkany and Burdujeni.

A short time later the Jews from the rural districts were driven into the city.
The Jews from the communities: Kaczika, Solka, Illischeschti, Arbora,
Balaczana, Komanesti, Hatna, etc. amounting to several thousand Jews and their
families. The Jews from there communities were housed with Jewish families and
in the prayer houses. The Jewish community and charitable organizations
accomplished wonderful work. As far as it was in their power, they gave the
suffering refugees material support.

The fixed Jewish property in the rural districts consisting of houses, land,
mills and sawmills including the machinery, worth many millions of dollars was
confiscated by the state and later sold or leased to the farmers.

Since September 6, 1940 when General Ion Antonescu together with the Iron
Guard and with the approval of the Germans, established a government and
proclaimed the State of the Legionnaires, the position of the Jews in Romania
and especially in Suceava had become every more precarious. Soon followed the
removal of Jews from government positions and not much later, the Nuremberg
Laws meant to wipe out Jewish business in Romania were enacted.

The German minority in Romania was resettled in Germany. The Suceava Germans
who were already organized in military units like the SS, SA, the German
Worker's Front, the German Woman's Organization, and the German Girl's
Organization left their former home singing. They carried German flags and sang
Nazi songs like, When Jewish Blood Sprays From the Knife and We
March for our Leader, Adolf Hitler.

The German doctor from Suceava, Feller, poisoned his dog before his left in
order to prevent him from falling into Jewish hands.

The rebellion of the Iron Guard followed. The parades of the Guard
in Suceava became ever more threatening to the resident Jews. They feared
pogroms like the one in Bucharest where the Jakob Katz, the musician who came
from Suceava was hanged in a slaughterhouse.

Before the outbreak of the war against Russia, the first concentration camps
were established in Romania. From Suceava, the Social Democrat Leib Rothkopf,
the anti fascists Lina Gropper and Isiu Ruhm, the Zionists David Dickmann,
Lazar Kohn, Menache Liquornik, etc. were interned in the camps.

Those interned in concentration camps in Romania were later moved to
Transnistrien (Vapniarka, Berschad, etc.).

After the return of the Jews from Transnistrien, the lawyer Dr. Chaim
Kupferberg became the leader of the Jewish community in Suceava (1940-1948).

Dr. Adolf Gabor was coordinator of the Zionist clubs. His service of many years
in the Zionist cause was well known in Suceava and the rest of the country. In
1920, a Jewish gymnasium was founded in Suceava and one of the subjects taught
was the Hebrew language. The first director of the school was Professor Thaler.

On October 8, 1941 a secret conference took place in the Prefecture chaired by
the Prefect of Suceava, with Romanian officials and a German SS officer present
where the order for the deportation of the Jews from Romania was read. It was
decided that the Jews of Suceava together with the Jews from Itzkany and
Burdujeni would be deported in three transports. The Prefect of Suceava then
left immediately for Bucharest.

On the morning of October 9, 1941 an ordinance with the following contents was
enacted:

The Jews of the city must immediately deliver their money, gold, precious
stones, stocks and bonds and all other valuables to the National Bank and
present themselves on the same day in Burdujeni with their hand luggage.

In compliance with the above-mentioned law, the Jews Simon Tropp, Jakob Beiner,
Sissie Weitmann, Noa Hopmeier, Dickmann, Selig Klüger, Feiwel
Holdengraeber, Josef Hersch Ebner, etc delivered gold and valuables in the
worth of several million dollars to the National Bank.

The concentration camp in Suceava, which at that time held 120 Jews from all
levels of Jewish society was closed down. At the same time, the beating of
drums announced that the entire Jewish population had to leave Suceava
immediately and anyone who remained in the city would be punished by death.

In droves streamed the Jews, young and old by foot with packs on their backs to
the Burdujeni railroad station where the entire Jewish population was loaded in
cattle cars and were transported to Transnistrien, the majority to Scharogorod
and Murafa. There, hunger and diseases decimated most of the former Jewish
population of Suceava. In the summer of 1944, the few survivors, without means,
sick and helpless returned to Suceava.

The relief action initiated immediately by the Joint, rescued these
few survivors. The Jewish People's Community in Suceava led by Dr. Chaim
Kupferberg again became active, organized several help actions and
successfully helped the returning Jews to get jobs.

It should be mentioned here that the OSE: under the leadership of Mosche
Liquornik provided food for hundreds of children. To coordinate the work of the
Jewish communities of South Bukovina in the years 1941/1942 and to better
prepare for the fight against anti Semitism, it was in those difficult days of
greatest importance to the Jews, since the anti-Semitism at that time in
Romania, under the initiative and leadership of the German embassy, the German
press (Bukarester Tagesblatt) and the Romanian anti-Semitic newspapers grew
increasingly virulent, the Union of the Jewish Communities of South Bukovina
chaired by the Community President of Suceava, Dr. Meir Teich was established.
The Jewish communities of Siret Suceava, Radauti, Gura Humorului, Kimpolung,
Vatra Dornei belonged to the Union.

It must be pointed out that the Union played a special roll when
the Jews were evacuated from the border city Siret to Calafat and Craiova at
the beginning of July 1941 in response to orders of the German army command.
Because of the intervention of the Union, many of the Jews were
able to remain in Suceava and Radauti.

The Zionistic organizations were built up again and the umbrella Zionist
organization of South Bukovina elected Mosche Liquornik as its president. Dr.
Chaim Kupferberg became the president of the Jewish community in Suceava.

For about 3 years there was active Zionist work by all groups like Ichud,
Mapai, Mischmar-Mapam, Achduth Awoda, Haowed Hazioni, Revisionists and other
groups until the Romanian officials forbid all Zionist activity.

In the years 1945-1947, Zionist activity was again reactivated in South
Bukovina and made great progress.

At that time the following Zionist organizations became active:

The Misrachi movement. President of the group was community council
member, Schmuel Oberwäger. Members were Boimann, Kultusrat Liquornik and
Gelber.

The youth organization Bne-Akiba with the activists Karten, Riegler
(today in Nathanya) and Kohn.

The Revisionists with Abosch, Lawyer Barber and Dr. Nathan
Wisznopolski

The new Zionistic activity only lasted a short time, since after the government
changed to a Communist one, the Jewish community was forbidden to engage in any
further nationalistic activity. The Jewish community was only tolerated as a
special religious group and placed under the supervision of the Communist
party. The Joint bank was liquidated and because of that, the
Jewish business community suffered a severe setback. All the commercial
organizations of the Jewish businessmen and craftsmen ceased to exist. The
Jewish craftsmen were forced to join a collective in order to be
able to work for a pitiful wage. The remaining unemployed Jews tried to get by
doing hourly work. The general situation of the Jews was at that time almost
hopeless.

The Jews who still remained in Suceava waited longingly for the moment when
they could go home to Israel.

The term community always refers to the Jewish community of
Suceava
<return>

R.A. is the abbreviation for
Rechtsanwalt which translates as
"lawyer"
<return>

OLGR is the abbreviation for
Oberlandgerichtsrat which can be translated as
"chief
judge attached to a Supreme Court"
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